--- title: Governor Martin O'Malley Criticizes Hillary Clinton for Flip-Flopping description: The former Maryland governor and likely presidential hopeful Martin O'Malley criticized Hillary Clinton for changing her views canonical: https://time.com/3826005/martin-omalley-hillary-clinton-harvard/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-17T01:04:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:43:32.867Z article:section: Politics og:title: O'Malley Criticizes Clinton for Flip-Flopping og:description: He touted his own past support for gay marriage. og:url: https://time.com/3826005/martin-omalley-hillary-clinton-harvard/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1941209fa0ad7d09/6987eb90428a9e9904ccaf67/467150236.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: Potential Presidential Candidate Martin O'Malley Speaks At Scott County Democratic Dinner og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: O'Malley Criticizes Clinton for Flip-Flopping twitter:description: He touted his own past support for gay marriage. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1941209fa0ad7d09/6987eb90428a9e9904ccaf67/467150236.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Martin O'Malley Criticizes Hillary Clinton for Flip-Flopping > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Apr 17, 2015 1:04 AM UTC  Martin O'Malley, former governor of Maryland and potential Democratic presidential candidate, during the Scott County Democratic Party dinner in Davenport, Iowa, U.S., on Friday, March 20, 2015. Martin O'Malley, former governor of Maryland and potential Democratic presidential candidate, during the Scott County Democratic Party dinner in Davenport, Iowa, U.S., on Friday, March 20, 2015. Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Apr 17, 2015 1:04 AM UTC Former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley had some sharp words Thursday evening for Hillary Clinton, who in the first week of her campaign has taken a more liberal stance on same-sex marriage and immigration. “I’m glad Secretary Clinton’s come around to the right positions on these issues,” said O’Malley, who will likely challenge Clinton for the Democratic nomination for President. “I believe that we are best as a party when we lead with our principles and not according to the polls.” “Leadership is about making the right decision, and the best decision before sometimes it becomes entirely popular,” he continued. Clinton has adopted a more populist tone than she has in the past during her recent tour this week to Iowa, where she made her first stops on the 2016 campaign trail. Last year, Clinton said in an interview with NPR that she supports gay-marriage activism on a “[state by state](http://www.npr.org/2014/06/12/321313477/hillary-clinton-the-fresh-air-interview)” basis; this week, her [campaign announced Clinton supports a Supreme Court](http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/15/politics/hillary-clinton-same-sex-marriage/) ruling that would grant same-sex couples a constitutional right to marry — a decision that would play out at the federal level. **MORE** [Could This Man Beat Hillary Clinton in Iowa?](http://time.com/3816630/hillary-clinton-martin-omalley-maryland-iowa/?iid=time%5Fspeed) And in 2007, Clinton said she opposed allowing undocumented immigrants to own driver’s licenses. This week her campaign [announced she supports it](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/16/clinton-drivers-licenses-undocumented%5Fn%5F7072570.html?ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000067). O’Malley has trumpeted his past support for both those issues as governor of Maryland. He sponsored a same-sex-marriage bill in the state that passed in 2012 — among the first in the nation to be approved by voters — and signed a law in 2013 that allowed illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. The former governor would run his campaign to the left of Clinton as a more progressive challenger. He currently registers as a blip in the polls but has greeted receptive audiences in Iowa and New Hampshire, where caucus-goers are eager for a more competitive race. The likely candidate has begun criticizing Clinton as he begins laying the groundwork for his own likely campaign. In an interview late last month on ABC, O’Malley swiped at Clinton, saying that the “presidency of the United States is not some crown to be passed between two families.” O’Malley said he will make a final decision about running for President by the end of May. _Read next:_ [_What Hillary Clinton Did Before Her Campaign_](http://time.com/3774872/hillary-clinton-campaign-launch/?iid=time%5Freadnext) ### See the 2016 Candidates Looking Very Presidential  Sen. Ted Cruz is surrounded by stars and stripes at the 2014 Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. on September 26, 2014. Mark Peterson—Redux  Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton gazes pensively into the distance at Iowa Senator Tom Harken'a annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis for TIME  Jeb Bush Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush flashes a power watch before giving his keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in Washington on Nov. 20, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Bernie Sanders waves to supporters after officially announcing his candidacy for the U.S. presidency during an event at Waterfront Park in Burlington, Vermont, on May 26, 2015. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Chris Christie New Jersey Governor Chris Christie strikes a presidential power stance at the ceremony for the opening of the 206 bypass in Hillsborough, New Jersey on October 28, 2013. Mark Peterson—Redux  Former Hewlett-Packard Co Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina listens to her introduction from the side of the stage at the Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 24, 2015. Jim Young—Reuters  Rand Paul Sen. Rand Paul works a crowd during a campaign stop on October 24, 2014 in McDonough, Georgia. Jessica McGowan—Getty Images  Rick Perry Texas Gov. Rick Perry looks powerfully patriotic during the National Anthem before an NCAA college football game on Nov. 27, 2014, in College Station, Texas. David J. Phillip—AP  Bobby Jindal Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal looks to the future during The Family Leadership Summit on Aug. 9, 2014, in Ames, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall—AP  Martin O'Malley Maryland Governor Martin OíMalley ponders decorating ideas in front of his possible future home on CBS's Face the Nation on Feb. 23, 2014. Chris Usher—AP  Marco Rubio Sen. Marco Rubio looks determined the morning after the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. on January 29, 2014. Melissa Golden—Redux  Ben CarsonBen Carson at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference on March 8, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Jim Webb Retiring Sen. Jim Webb imitates the presidential wave during a rally in Virginia Beach, Va. on Sept. 27, 2012. Steve Helber—AP  John Kasich Ohio Gov. John Kasich practices his presidential victory pose at the Ohio Republican Party celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, in Columbus, Ohio. Tony Dejak—AP  Rick Santorum Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum looks resolute at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 7, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Scott Walker Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker practices the presidential point on March 3, 2014 in Milwaukee. Jeffrey Phelps—AP  Mike Huckabee Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee fine-tunes his presidential oratory at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference in National Harbor, Md. on March 7, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Lincoln Chafee, Former Rhode Island Governor, poses for a selfie with a student after announcing he will seek the Democratic nomination for president in Arlington, Va. on June 3, 2015. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Lindsey Graham Lindsey Graham announced his plans to join the 2016 presidential race. Alex Wong—Getty Images  George Pataki Former New York governor George Pataki listens to a question at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire, in this April 17, 2015 file photo. Brian Snyder—Reuters [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/autoplay/?xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3826005/martin-omalley-hillary-clinton-harvard/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3826005/martin-omalley-hillary-clinton-harvard/"},"headline":"Martin O'Malley Criticizes Hillary Clinton for Flip-Flopping","datePublished":"2015-04-17T01:04:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:43:32.867Z","description":"He touted his own credentials on immigration and same-sex marriage","url":"https://time.com/3826005/martin-omalley-hillary-clinton-harvard/","keywords":["Hillary Clinton","2016 Election","Martin O'malley"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1941209fa0ad7d09/6987eb90428a9e9904ccaf67/467150236.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1941209fa0ad7d09/6987eb90428a9e9904ccaf67/467150236.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Potential Presidential Candidate Martin O'Malley Speaks At Scott County Democratic Dinner","caption":"Potential Presidential Candidate Martin O'Malley Speaks At Scott County Democratic Dinner","creditText":"Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3826005/martin-omalley-hillary-clinton-harvard/","name":"Martin O'Malley Criticizes Hillary Clinton for Flip-Flopping"}}]}] ```